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Thursday, July 25, 2013

BMW i Ventures has announced a strategic investment into Chargemaster Plc, the UK’s leading provider of electric vehicle charging infrastructure. In addition to this investment, Chargemaster and BMW i have entered into a wide ranging cooperation agreement whereby Chargemaster will provide a range of E-mobility services. Both parties will carry out joint electric vehicle (EV) marketing activities and will work together to promote the advancement of EVs and E-mobility services.

Thorsten Mattig, Managing Director BMW i Ventures: “We see Chargemaster playing an important role in preparing the way for E-mobility. This investment and wide ranging cooperation agreement will accelerate our activities as well as boost the synergies with some of our already existing services and investments, such as ParkatmyHouse, where Chargemaster equipment has already been installed.”

The five year cooperation agreement between Chargemaster and BMW i aims to ensure that suitable charging infrastructure is in place for the anticipated proliferation of EVs, with both parties working to establish ChargeNow, the public charging network for BMW i owners across the UK. Chargemaster will also provide charging equipment and sites for the BMW i car sharing service DriveNow.

Both parties are working together on making EV charging as accessible to consumers as possible. This includes working with another BMW i partner, ParkatmyHouse.com (PAMH), to roll out further charging points within the PAMH estate of over 30,000 private parking locations. This cooperation extends Chargemaster’s existing work with PAMH where Chargemaster has already been equipping London PAMH driveways with charging points.

BMW i and Chargemaster will be looking to bring new innovative charging technologies to the market. Under the Agreement, the two parties will be carrying out joint EV marketing activities to promote the practical advancement of electric cars and E-mobility services.

Commenting on the BMW i Ventures investment and cooperation agreement David Martell, Chief Executive Offer of Chargemaster said: “We are delighted to welcome BMW i as investor in Chargemaster. In addition, our selection as a partner to cooperate in the provision of charging programmes to assist the rollout of E-mobility services is an endorsement of Chargemaster’s premier position in the market. We look forward to working with BMW i in this exciting and fast-growing space as we expand our operations in Europe.”